ABSTRACT

Black women are experiencing pregnancy-related complications at a significantly higher rate than women of other races in the U.S., as Black women are three to four times likely to die from pregnancy-related complications compared to non-Hispanic White women. Structural barriers and different forms of marginalization continue to limit Black women’s access to quality healthcare services. Through critical race theory, we examine what structural barriers exist in the U.S. healthcare system, one that limits access to quality care during their prenatal and postnatal doctor’s visits. Using qualitative in-depth interviews, 31 African American women, living in Milwaukee, WI, shared their pregnancy stories. The emergent themes include, institutionalized care – racially insensitive biomedical approach, race and class – unfair treatment based on health insurance, and race as a social concept – dismissed pain concerns because you are a strong Black woman. These themes reveal the experience of racial discrimination toward African American women through healthcare [communicative] practices that are often times seen as “standard” practices, albeit marginalizing minority populations. Findings from this study offer insights for healthcare providers on communicative practices that foster a racially-safe healthcare environment for African American women.

摘要

与美国其他种族的女性相比，黑人女性的妊娠相关并发症发生率要高得多，因为与非西班牙裔白人女性相比，黑人女性死于妊娠相关并发症的可能性是其三到四倍。结构性障碍和不同形式的边缘化继续限制黑人女性获得优质医疗服务。通过批判性种族理论，我们研究了美国医疗保健系统中存在哪些结构性障碍，这些障碍限制了他们在产前和产后就诊期间获得优质护理的机会。通过定性的深入访谈，31 名居住在威斯康星州密尔沃基的非裔美国女性分享了她们的怀孕故事。新兴主题包括，制度化护理——种族不敏感的生物医学方法，种族和阶级——基于健康保险的不公平待遇，以及作为社会概念的种族——消除了对痛苦的担忧，因为你是一个坚强的黑人女性。这些主题揭示了通过医疗保健 [交流] 实践对非裔美国妇女的种族歧视经历，这些实践通常被视为“标准”实践，尽管将少数族裔边缘化。这项研究的结果为医疗保健提供者提供了有关为非裔美国女性营造种族安全医疗环境的交流实践的见解。尽管边缘化了少数族裔。这项研究的结果为医疗保健提供者提供了有关为非裔美国女性营造种族安全医疗环境的交流实践的见解。尽管边缘化了少数族裔。这项研究的结果为医疗保健提供者提供了有关为非裔美国女性营造种族安全医疗环境的交流实践的见解。